Geometric lathe



- (No Modem 3 Sheen -Sheet 2.

' S. K. WHITE.

GEOMBTBIG LATHE.

No. 291,451; Patented Jan. 1, 1884.

1 o o .FJKI

' ni i'nwses:

a'lflhcgnphv. Washington. D. C.

N. PETERS. Phat UNITE STATES PATENT mice.

SAMUEL K. WHITE, OF- CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

GEOM ETRIC LATH E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 291,451, dated January1, 1884.

' Application filed March 29, 1883. (N model.)

to the letters of reference marked thereon,

which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to geometric lathes of that class in which aseries of blanks are i supported and successively carried intoengagement with the cutters, and in which the desired form is given-tothe article turned by pattern-cams, which control the space between thecutter' and blank axes, made relatively movable toward and from eachother for this purpose. i

In the machine herein shown as embodying my invention, threecutter-arbors are employed, each one movable independently of theothers, and each having its several ends independently movable withreference to the path through which the blanks are carried.

By means of a series of separate cutter-arbors the blank may be firstturned in the roughto proximate the size or form, or both, of thearticle to be produced, and'the succeeding cutter or cutters may give tosaid article its finalform. When two or more cutters follow theroughing-cutter, one may be used to give a certain form to one portionof the article beingturned, and another may give a different form toanother portion of said article. Such is the arrangement and intentionin the machine as herein illustrated.

i It is a feature of my improved machine that the blanks are mounted soas to be brought into stationary position opposite the cutters, so thatall three cutters, or any number of cutters that may be employed, shallbe simultaneously at work upon the corresponding number of blanks; andit is also a feature of the machine that while said blanks are thuslocally stationary and being operated upon by i said cutters they arerotated upon their axes. The pattern-cams are applied to theblankspindles, and, as here shown, operate to control the relativebodily movementof the cutters by engagement with circular disks orplates applied to the cutter-arbors or to the bearings of said arbors;and in order that the cutters may produce a blank of the same shape orconformation as the pattern-cams, said circular disks or plates are madeof practically the same radius as the cutters on the arborto which saidplates are applied. The traveling blank-supports consist, as here shown,of a series of plates, which carry thespindle-bearings, which plates arerigidly connected in nected are linked with others of similarconstruction, to form, practically, a broad, continuous chain. Saidchain is arranged upon sprocket-wheels at opposite ends of the 'mapairsby cross-bars, and the plates soconchine, and is suitably supported andguided in its movement beneath the-cutters and between said wheels,whereby when the cutters are at work the blanks are held perfectlystationary. The cutter-arbors are movably supportedin uprights attachedto the frame,.pro-- vided with slots in their upper ends, in which thebearing-boxes of said arborsmay rise and fall independently of eachother; and inthe same uprights are mounted stationary spindlesconstructed toengagewith the spindles in the a traveling blank-holders,and provided-with sprockets or pinions by which they may be driven.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machinecontaining-lily improvements. Fig. 2 is a central -vertical sectiontransverse to the axes of the rotating parts, or through so an of Fig.3. Fig. 3 is a vertical section in the vertical planes of the indi rectline 00 a; of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a vertical section through y y of Fig.3, looking to the right. Fig. 5 is a plan of the blank-carrying plateswithblank-spindles attached. Fig. 6 shows a preferred construction ofcertain parts.

The main frame of the machine consists of two side pieces, A, upon whichthe several operative parts are supported, said side pieces beingconnected by cross-braces a. e

B are two shafts, arranged transversely at either end of the machine,and havingbearplaced on the ends IOO chain belts or carriers, 0,consisting of a series of plates, 0, and connectingdinks O The plates 0are shown as being curved on their under sides to correspond with thecurvature of the sprocket-wheels B, and have standards 0 upon theirouter surface, in which are journaled short spindles D, for supportingthe blanks, said spindles being placed axially in line with each otherat the opposite ends of the machine. The plates 0, which are oppositeeach other in the two chains, are rigidly connected by cross-bars '0,preferably made integral with the said plates, whereby the said spindlesare kept in perfect alignment. The spindles D are for the purpose ofsupporting and rotating the blanks, and are provided upon their innerends with devices for supporting said blanks between them, as will behereinafter described.

Upon the inner faces of the side frames, A, between the wheels B, and ona level with. the upper surfaces of said wh eels, are placed guideplatesAone upon either side of the machine which act as supports for theplates 0, and upon which they travelin passing from one wheel to theother in the operation of the machine. An inwardly-projecting flange, A,is attached to the top of the guides A, and arranged longitudinallythereof, which flange extends over lateral projections a on the outsideof the plates 0, whereby said plates are held down to the saidguide-plates and any tilting or lateral motion in the standards 0prevented. The guides A preferably consist, as shown, ofinwardly-projecting flanges, forming part of the frame-pieces A.

Upon the frame-pieces A, at either side of the machine, are placed threeoppositely-arranged standards, A, which afford bearings for short shaftsor spindles E, by which the spindlesD are driven, and which are alsoconstructed to afford proper support for three rotating cutter-arbors,F, G, and H, arranged vertically above the spindles E. The shafts E arearranged upon the same level as the spindles D, and are placed at thesame distance apart, so that three of the spindles D may be placed inengagement with the shafts E at the same time. Said shafts E and thespindlesD are connected, so as to transmit motion for rotating theblanks, by means of clutches D, Fig. 3, said clutches consisting ofdisks 6 and d, attached, respectively, to the adjacent ends of thespindles D and E, the disk dbeing provided with a horizontal groove, 01,in its face, and the disk ewith a corresponding projection, 6, so thatwhen the spindles D are moved forward in order to carry the blanks fromone cutter-arbor to the next the said clutches will be disengaged andengaged automatically. Motion is given to the spin dles'E on both sidesof the machine by means of chain-belts I, which pass over sprocketwheelsE, placed on the outer ends of the spindles E, and sprocket-wheels I,placed on the ends of acentrally-arranged-drivingshait, I which isjournaled onthe frame-pieces A. The said driving-shaft has upon it adriving-pulley, J, connected to said shaft by a clutch mechanism, aswill be hereinafter described,

for giving an intermittent rotation to the said shaft and the spindlesE. The cutterarbors F, G, and H are journaled at each end in boxes L,arranged to slide in vertical recesses or grooves a in the upper part ofthe standards A", and said arbors are each provided with a series ofcutting-knives, F G H, of any desired or preferred construction.

Upon each of the spindles D, at both sides of the machine, are twodisks, D D and a pattern-cam, D, which are arranged to engagecorrespondingly-placed collars F G H on the cutter-arbors.

In the machine illustrated the cutter-arbor F is for the purpose ofroughing the blank or reducing it to the appropriate size of thefinished article. The cutter-arbor G is for the purpose of finishing amolded portion at either end of the blank, and the arbor H is forproducing a polygonal or irregular figure on the central portionthereof. The disks D and D which engage the collars F and G are, asshown, circular in form, and serve as gages to the cutters in turning orroughing an article that is circular in cross-section. The cam D*, whichoperates upon the collar H is shaped to correspond with the form of thearticle to be turned, and, by acting upon the collar H as the spindles Dand the blank are rotated, moves the cutter-arbor, so as to cause thecuttersto work to a figure corresponding in crosssection with the shapeof said cam.

It has been found in machines of this class as heretofore constructedthat when apatterncam of the character described is caused to actdirectly upon a frame carrying the cutter-arbor the cutters do notreceive the precise motion necessary to reproduce the form of the cam inthe article being turned,the reason being that although the movement ofa point on the said frame would develop a figure similar to the cam,yetthe curvature of the rotary cutters causes a variation in the form ofthe article cut thereby. In order to eliminate this cause of inaccuracyin the use of the patterncam, the collar H upon the cutter-arbor is madeof the same diameter as the path of the cutters, so that thecutting-edges of theknives are moved to precisely the same extent thatthe collar H is moved by the cam, and will follow the outline of afigure similar to said cam as the blank is rotated.

Instead of placing the collar H upon the cutter-arbor, said collar maybe placed upon a movable frame or bed which supports such arbor; or,instead of using a rotating collar at all, the cam may bear against acurved surface upon the frame of the same radius as the cutters, withthe same result. The blanks are held to the spindlesD by the ordinarymeans, one of said spindles being provided with a rod, d,which slides inan aperture in said spindle, and which is forced forward so as to engagethe end of the blank by means of an eccentric, (1 In order to savespace, the standards 0", which are used to support the spindleto whichsaid sliding rod is applied, are divided, as shown IIO are employed forconnecting the spindles D and E at both sides of the machine, it is notessential that the blanks should be driven at both ends, and theclutches. shown at one end of the blank may be dispensed with. In suchcase, however, in order to give the proper recipro cating movement toboth ends of the cutterarbor H and togage the work in the case of theother arbors, F and G, the pattern-cams and collars here shown upon thespindles D may be placed on the spindles E, retained for this purpose,and rotated simultaneously with the cams at theopposite side of themachine by the chain I, also retained. The principal object of drivingthe blank from one end only would be to enable a movable or slidingtailblock to be used, whereby considerable differences" in the lengthsofthe blanks would be provided for. Said movable tail-blocks wouldobviously take the place of the corresponding fixed standards, and wouldbe contrived to run on the cross-bars'c. This preferable construction,of themachine with respect to the location of the cams and theiropposing collars is shown in Fig. 6, in which said cams are placed uponthe spindles E, exteriorto the frameuprights A and the collars areplaced in such manner as to rotate upon the bearingboxes of thecutter-arbor. By this location of the cams onlyoneset of agiven shapeneed be constructed for each of the spindles, or three sets in all,while if placed as shown in Fig. '3 a set is required for each spindleD, or as many sets as the number of blanks the ma-, chine is constructedto simultaneously hold.

" Placing the collar H upon the bearing-box of the cutter-arbor, insteadof upon the arbor itself, has also an advantage, for when upon the arborthe rapid movement of the latter tends to carrythe collar also at ahigher speed than that of the cams, and to thereby produce a slidingmovement of the collar on the cams,

and corresponding wear and friction. When placed on the bearing-box, onthe other hand,

' said collars willrotate only as carried by con tact with the cams, andthe friction above referred to will be avoided. If preferred, asegmental non-rotating plate may be applied to the bearing-box of thecutter-arbor in place of a rotating disk, H

Ina machine having independently-movable bearings for each end of thecutter-arbor H, as shown, and having cams for controlling both ends ofsaid cutter-arbor in relation to theblank,'it is obviously practicableto make anarticle of tapered form by simply varying ends of the boxes L.

produced. Such structure admits ofgreat vathe tapered or other irregularfigure formed by the pattern-cams acting on the finishingcutters; or theintermediate cutters for finishing a portion of the article may beadjusted at each end as desired, so as to cut a larger or smallercircle. It is manifest that the disks D D may be replaced bypattern-cams, and that cams or disks of any size or shape may be placedupon either of the blank-spindles, as desired, so that an articlemay beformed of any desired shape in its different portions. Any number ofcutter-arbors may be placed upon the machine in the manner shown, and agreat variety of different ornamental forms may be made upon the samearticle by multiplying the pattern-cams which control the movement ofthe several arbors.

For the purpose of keeping the cutters down to their work and thecollars on the several cutter-arbors in contact with the disks and camson the blank-shafts, in case the weight of the arbors is not sufficientfor the purpose, Lhave pivoted weighted levers M to the upper ends ofthe standards A which are constructed to act upon the bearing-boxes L ofsaid arbors and press them constantly down ward, while at the same timeallowing them to yield when the arbors are moved. The levers M arepreferably provided with forked, ends an, which are pivoted at m uponeither side of said standards and rest upon the projecting Slidingweights M are placed upon the levers M, whereby the downward pressure ofthe cutter-arbors may be regulated.

Instead of the weighted levers described, 3

springs or other suitable means may be used for'accomplishing the samepurpose.

In order to prevent the spindles D from being turned accidentally duringthe time that the clutches D are out of engagement, soas to prevent theprojections e from entering the grooves d in the disks (Z when theycome, to-

gether, springs (1* may be placed on the plates 0 and arranged to pressupon the periphery of the disks (1, as shown in Fig. 1, said diskshaving a flattened face upon one side so arranged that the spindles willbe held in proper position for the eugagementof the clutches by theaction of the spring upon said flattened engage each other, I make theloose drivingpulley J fast to said shaft temporarily by means of aclutchmechanism adapted to place the shaft in engagement with the pulley atany moment desired, and to thereby arrest the movement of the shaftautomatically after it has made one complete rotation. Such clutchmechanism may be made in any one of a number of well-known ways; but asa preferable form of such clutch, and as shown in the drawings, it isconstructed as follows: The ZLIHISZ and t" are pivoted to a slidingcollar, 7?, upon the shaft 1, said collar being prevented from rotatingon the shaft by means of a feather thereon, as shown. The ends of thearms 13 and i are adapted to bear against an annular friction-surfaceformed on the inner surface of I the driving-pulley, and the oppositeend of and the shaft is rotated with them.

the arm t is extended beyond the pivotal point, and forms an armfl",which bears against a stationary collar, K, attached to the frame of themachine. In the upper portion of the collar K is formed a notch, 7c,adapted to receive the end of the arm 1'. The parts are so arranged thatwhen the arm 1' rests against the face of the collar K the arms '5 andz" are forced against the friction-surface of the pulley, and the armsare carried around thereby, -When the arm i reaches the notch as ittraverses the disk K, it will enter said notch, the arms will bereleased from contact with the pulley J,

andthe shaft be stopped. The arms 1' and 1;"

are again caused to grip the pulley by forcing the end of the arm 2'"out of the notch 7a. This is accomplished, as shown in the drawings,bymeans of a sliding bolt, 6, which is acted upon by an arm, Z, attachedto a rock-shaft, L,which able connections with the chain 0, so that atthe moment the blanks are brought into position opposite the cutters thearm 1' will be thrown out of the notch 7c and the shafts H and Drotated, thus making the operation of the bl ank-rotating devicesentirely automatic.

The clutch mechanism described is not original .with me, and forms nopart of this invention.

For the purpose of rotating the shafts B so as to accomplish the forwardmovement of the blank-carrier (l, I have shown a hand-wheel,

B upon the end of said shaft at the feed end of the machine. Suchhand-wheel may maniv-festly be replaced by a belt-pulley and theblank-carrier driven by power, if desired, a

suitable device being provided to make the forward movement thereofintermittent. The blanks are placed in the machine and the finishedarticle removed therefrom by hand, and such operation will usually causeno interruption to the continual operation of the machine, as the timeconsumed in finishing each article will usually be sufficient for thepurpose of performing it.

In the arrangement of the cutter-arbors substantially in a plane the useof the chain-carrier for the blanks traveling continuously in onedirection is not strictly essential, since obviously a reciprocatinghorizontal bedplate carrying the blank-spindles may be employed in itsstead.

I claim as my-invention- 1. In a geometric lathe, the combination, witha rotating movable cutter-arbor and relatively stationaryblank-spindles, of independently-movable bearings for the several endsof the cutter-arbor, and a cam on each blank-spindle for controlling thedistance between the several ends of the cutter-arbor and the ends ofthe blank, substantially as described.

2. In a geometric lathe, the combination, with the rotating movablecutter-arbor and withthe blank-spindle, of a pattern-cam secured'to theblank-spindle andaplate opposed to said cam, mounted on the said arbor,or a part belonging thereto, and having a curved surface for contactwith the cam of practically equal radius with the cutters, substantiallyas described.

3. In a geometric lathe, the combination,

with a movable cutter-arbor. a traveling sup port provided with spindlesfor the blank, and a stationary spindle constructed to engage theblank-spindle when the latter is in working position with reference tothe cutter-arbor, of

a disk or cam upon, said stationary spindle, arranged to control thedistance between the cutter-arborand the blank, substantially'asdescribed. I 4

4. In a geometric lathe, the combination, with two or more rotating andindependentlymovable cutter-arbors arranged ina practically horizontalplane, of a series of blankspindles, a continuous chain-carrier forsupporting said blank-spindles, means for guiding said chain-carrier ina plane parallel with that of the cutter-arbors, means forintermittently moving said chain-carrier so as to present each one ofthe blanks in succession to the said cutter-arbors, and means forrotating-the said blank-spindles when opposite the cutterarbors,substantially as described.

5. The combination, with two or more out ter-arbors, and with the seriesof connected plates 0, for supporting the blank-spindles at the samedistance apart as the cutter-arbors, of mechanism for moving saidplates, stationary guides for said plates, and means for rotating thespindles when opposite the cutters,

substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the cutter-arbors and a chain-carrier for the'blank-spindles of Wheels B, guides A, placed between said wheels, andmeans for rotating the blankspindles when opposite the cutters,substantially as and for the purposes set forth. a

7. In a geometric lathe, the combination,

with a rotating cutter-arbor and with spin- A and driving mechanismapplied thereto, substantially as described.

' 9. The combination, With the standards A with the cutter'arborjournal-boxes mounted movably therein, and with driving-spindles E, alsomounted in said standards, of pattern cams secured to said spindles, andplates mounted on the boxes of the cutter-arbor in position to engagesaid cams, substantially as described, and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing asmy invention I affix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL K. WHITE. \Vitncsses:

M. E. DAYTON, PETER J. ELLERT.

